


Doubt

by Taupefox59



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Communication, Downworlder Friendships, Downworlder Politics, Episode: s02e12 You Are Not Your Own, Fix-It, Good Parabatai Jace Wayland, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-16 07:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taupefox59/pseuds/Taupefox59
Summary: Valentine Morgenstern is trapped in a cell in the basement of the Institute, claiming to be Magnus Bane.Alec can't bring himself to believe what he hears...but he also can't fight the doubts that itch at his bones. Searching for anything to settle his mind, Alec reaches out to the one person who bridges the gap between Valentine and Magnus:Detective Luke Garroway.





	1. Trust and Phone Calls

**Author's Note:**

> An exercise in remembering how to write - written over the last day or so. Un-beta'd, comments & con-crit are always welcome - if you catch any mistakes, please let me know!

_“Please, Alexander, you have to believe me!”_

 

Alec was back in the office, watching the video feed of Valentine’s jail cell. He knew he needed to stop. It wasn’t doing anyone any good. Valentine was a liar. He'd spent his entire life getting what he wanted by manipulating people. He couldn’t fall for it. The inquisitor was in the institute. He’d already released Valentine once, not to mention getting Magnus to summon Azazel _into the institute_. He couldn’t - he couldn’t afford to make to make another mistake.

Valentine was pacing across the cell, curled in on himself, rubbing his thumb across the pads of his fingers, and Alec could only watch. He took a deep breath. No, he wouldn’t watch, there were better things to be doing. The inquisitor was there, and after the downworlder massacre, there no shortage of work to be done. He had better things to do than stare at video screen.

He _knew_ that what Valentine said was a lie. Alec knew that he’d made himself into the perfect target. His relationship with Magnus was the opposite of a secret. Alec was the one in charge of the institute, and he’d already proven himself willing to break the rules. He’d already arranged to let Valentine out once. He’d shown himself to be the weakest link. It only made sense that when Valentine once again tried to escape he chose the route he already knew worked. Alec had already proved himself to be compromised by his relationship. Valentine knew that they didn’t have Izzy, it made sense for the next angle to be Magnus.

It was all a lie, but it still didn’t explain anything. How could Valentine possibly know the things he knew? What kind of resources did Valentine have access to that would get him the kind of details that he knew? If the Circle could get access to what Alec did in his personal life… private conversations he’d had with Magnus in other countries… there was no limit. Valentine had access to _anything_.

The Clave had no power that could compete with that. Alec didn’t even know where they would start. How could they fight someone who could get information like that?

 

The only other option was that...that the man in the cell had been telling the truth. And that...that… Alec shook his head. They had fallen for enough of Valentine’s tricks. He couldn’t afford to fall for another one. Jace was right. Valentine lied.

He trusted Jace with his life.

He trusted Jace with _Magnus’s_ life.

 

He did. Unquestionably. But his options were believing that Valentine had nearly omniscient power, or that...somehow, something _had_ happened with Azazel.

 

Because Alec _knew_ Magnus, and at the loft, something had been off, and in the cell - the way that Valentine had said his name…

 

Alec glanced up at Valentine. He was in the cell asleep on the cot along the wall, but he looked anything but peaceful. He was restless, tossing and turning on the bed. Alec knew better than to listen in, but before he knew it he was reaching over to turn on the volume of the video feed. It was just heavy breathing and whimpers. Alec blew out a long breath and scrubbed at the back of his neck. Valentine had more than earned any nightmare; Alec wasn’t going to waste any more time on this. He took another deep breath and turned back to his paperwork.

 

The fact that he left the volume on didn’t mean anything.

 

 

Alec was once again looking over the casualty list, trying to make sure that all of the families of the fallen had been properly informed. He was staring at the seemingly endless list of names when Valentine started screaming.

 

 _“No, please...Ragnor, Madzie, NO!”_ Valentine bolted upright, clutching at the zipper of his jumpsuit, panting and shaking.

 

Alec was frozen as he stared at the screen. It...could have been an act. He wanted to break something. If only he had more information. All he had was Jace’s word against Valentine’s, and he couldn’t do anything with that. Nothing Valentine said could be trusted, but Jace hadn’t been there. Jace hadn’t seen the way that Valentine’s mouth had been trembling as he begged for Alec to believe. And Alec didn’t know Valentine well enough to be able to tell if it truly was a ruse.

 

Valentine had started crying in his cell, the same refrain: _“Please, please, you have to believe me, I’m not Valentine, I’m Magnus Bane. Please, Alexander, help me.”_

 

 

Alec closed his eyes and turned away. _He didn’t have enough information._ There was nothing he could do about it now. He forced himself back to the list of the fallen, and one name caught his eye. Alaric Rodriguez. Luke’s Second-In-Command. Alec froze.

Luke.

_Luke._

 

Alec only knew Magnus. Jace knew Valentine - but as a parent. Luke knew Valentine, better than anyone else in the world would ever be able to. Alec was scrambling for his phone without another thought, pulling it out of his pocket and calling up the Detective.

It rang, and Alec took a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts straight. It would be difficult to get Luke in to see Magnus after everything that had happened, it didn’t matter. There were too many things that seemed _off_ , and Alec had to be sure.

Luke just needed to pick up the phone. It rang again.

“Alec? What’s wrong?” Luke’s voice was thick and rough, and he sounded terrified. There was a moment of silence. “You’re calling me at…” there was a pause, “2:42 in the morning?”

“Yes.” Alec winced. He had been so caught in his thoughts he hadn’t even thought of the time.

“Alec,” Luke sounded exhausted, “You’re either going to tell me what’s wrong, or I’m going back to sleep and we can have this conversation at a more reasonable hour.

“It’s about Valentine.”

“What? What has he done now?”

“That’s why I need your help. He’s claiming to be Magnus.”

There was a pause. “You’re telling me that you have Valentine Morgenstern in Clave custody, and he’s pretending to be Magnus?” Luke’s voice was tired, but kind.

“Yes.” Alec said.

“And you...believe him?”

Alec bit his lip, and turned back to look at the screen showing Valentine’s cell. Valentine who was sitting on the cot, arms locked around his knees and crying. “I don't know.”

The silence stretched over the phone. “Alec, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“Come in and talk to him. You know Valentine better than anyone. You’ll know if he’s lying.”

“Alec, he hasn’t been the man I knew for decades.”

Alec could feel a cold energy creeping into his veins, rising up through his chest as he realized that Luke might not come. Alec would hardly be able to blame him; the last time he’d come to the institute, he’d lost most of his pack to the soul sword. It was entirely reasonable for him to refuse.

“Luke, something is off about him.”

“And you think that I’ll be able to tell what it is.”

“You’ve known Valentine and Magnus.”

“And this can’t wait, I assume.” Luke sighed, “How would something like that even have happened?”

Alec clenched his jaw and let out a breath. “I asked Magnus to summon Azazel.”

“You summoned Azazel?” Luke asked in shocked alarm.

“We...had reason to believe that he had kidnapped Isabelle.”

“Why- No. Actually. We’re not doing this right now. Is Valentine is still in your custody?”

“Yes.”

“Will that change between now and tomorrow morning?”

“No, it won’t.”

Luke sighed, “Look. I’m not about to walk into the Institute unless you give me a very good reason. If you want me to talk to Valentine, you’re going to explain to me everything that happened. You’re going to tell me exactly what has you considering that Valentine Morgenstern is somehow Magnus Bane.”

Alec paused for a moment. What Luke was asking for was more than fair, but that didn’t mean it would be an easy conversation. He took a deep breath, “It was-”

“Nothing that you can’t tell me after I’ve gotten another four hours of sleep, Alec.”

“Right.” Alec said, not hanging up.

“You could get some sleep too.” Luke pointed out. “I’ve heard it’s good for you.”

Alec frowned. He had better things to do then sleep. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you.”

“Alec?”

“Yes?”

“Next time, check the time before you call.” With that, Luke hung up.

 

Valentine in the cell was once again staring at the camera. It was Valentine - of _course_ it was Valentine. Just because there was something in his eyes… Alec shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now. Luke would be coming over, and Alec had more than enough work to keep him busy until the sun started to rise.

Maybe things would start to make sense then.


	2. A Conversation Over Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke meets with Alec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter was edited, and I like it a lot more now, the ending of that has changed.
> 
> Endless thanks to [Xandiland](http://xandiland.tumblr.com/) for being encouragement and being a spectacular beta. <3
> 
> Any mistakes left are my own. If you catch anything, please let me know! Con/Crit always welcome.

Alec had tried to get some sleep in the end, but it hadn’t done much good. Lying awake in bed with his mind going around in circles wasn’t particularly restful. He’d finally given up when his alarm went off.

On his way out to his meeting with Luke, as he walked through the halls of the Institute, he couldn’t fight the pull of the video screens in the office. Watching did no good, it didn’t change anything, but he couldn’t leave without checking one more time.

 

Valentine was curled up on the cot, staring silently up at the camera.

 

Alec forced down any reaction. There was no way that he could make a clear-headed decision. He had to be diplomatic; he couldn’t let his emotions play into it. If it was Valentine playing him, then it would be his own fault for not listening to Jace; for not putting enough stock into the stories of just how far Valentine could go and just how good he was at manipulating people. If somehow it was true, that it wasn’t Valentine but Magnus trapped in the wrong body, he would be listening to his heart above anything that his head had ever told him.

Alec set his jaw and then turned off the monitor. Staring at the cell wasn’t doing anything. He took a deep breath and made his way out of the Institute. Luke was a busy man, even without the additional political tension. Luke’s time was important and Alec knew that he would be asking a lot.

 

Alec got to the coffee shop first, but he’d met with Luke enough to know how he took his coffee. He paid for everything, getting the drinks in paper cups. It was a mundane shop, but that didn’t mean it was easy for Shadowhunters to be seen meeting up with Downworlders. Luke was a respected leader, but the foundations of every downworlder community had been shaken after the soul sword massacre. It was easy to see the tension that was bleeding through the ranks of every sector of the shadow world.

Luke was doing his best to help as much as possible, but it was a tenuous position. Werewolves were already questioning the priority of Luke’s allegiances, and Alec knew that asking too much could push their working relationship past the breaking point. They were on good terms, but Alec knew that all it would take was a little too much pressure from the clave and Luke would be gone. It didn’t matter that the two of them personally worked very well together. Sometimes politics were bigger than personal relationships.

Sometimes politics  _ were _ personal relationships. Alec sighed and shook his head. His relationship with Magnus was the best thing that had ever happened to him, but that didn’t make it easy. He would be the first to admit that he didn’t always do a very good job of balancing his commitments to the Clave and spending time with his boyfriend. He was trying to do better, but it was a work in progress.

Even if all of that progress seemed like it had been lost in the last two days. Something had happened when they’d summoned Azazel. Even if Valentine was lying, there was still something going on with Magnus. Magnus was acting oddly. Alec wanted to be there. He was determined to support his boyfriend in any way that he could, but if Magnus didn’t want to talk about it, Alec wouldn’t push. If Magnus needed space, that’s what Alec would give him.

His musings were interrupted by Luke’s arrival. “Luke, thank you for coming.”

Luke raised an eyebrow. “It had you calling me about Valentine at three in the morning. That seems important.”

Alec nodded and held up the two cups of coffee. “We can stay or go.”

Luke glanced around the coffee shop. It was the morning rush, but despite the heavy traffic, most of the tables were open. He nodded to an open table in the corner. “Let’s stay.”

Alec nodded, and led the way to the table, setting the drinks on the table and settling into a chair. Luke sat down across from him, taking a long drink of coffee before starting to speak.

“So Valentine is...claiming to be Magnus?”

“Yes.”

Luke frowned and shook his head. “And you believe him.”

“I...have doubts.”

“Doubts that he’s lying?” Luke pressed.

Alec looked troubled. “Valentine has gotten to where he is now because he knows how to manipulate people.”

“But something that he said has you here talking to me.”

Alec’s fingers were tapping against his thighs underneath the table. “The things that he said to me were things that only Magnus would know.”

“Things about you.” Luke asked.

Alec bit his lip and squinted at Luke. He trusted Luke. He’d proved himself to be a good man and an invaluable ally. None of that made Alec feel any better about telling him anything about his personal life. He took a deep breath, running through words that would explain without going into specifics. “He knew things about me, yes, and about my relationship with Magnus.”

Luke’s brow furrowed and he gave a thoughtful hum. “I have to say that I can’t imagine Valentine ever claiming to be a downworlder. He would never want his face to be associated with a warlock, let alone Magnus Bane.”

“So you think it’s possible he’s telling the truth?”

“You apparently do.” Luke pointed out.

Alec frowned. “I’m not sure.”

“Have you spoken to Magnus?”

“Yes, but he seemed...off. Distracted.” Alec paused. “Have you spoken to him?”

Luke shook his head. “Not since the massacre.”

Alec sighed. “Would you be willing to come to the Institute?”

“Would I be allowed into the Institute?”

Alec met Luke’s eyes. “Technically, no downworlders are currently allowed in. As long as Inquisitor Herondale is here, she has everyone on lockdown.”

“So what exactly are you proposing, then?”

“I can get you in. No one will know you’re there.”

“You want me to break into the Institute for you, so I can talk to a man I never want to see again.”

Alec winced. It was a lot to ask of anyone. “I can promise that nothing will happen to you.”

Luke gave Alec a long, searching look. “I’m not interested in getting caught up in Clave politics.”

“You won’t be,” Alec said, seriously.

“And you can guarantee that?”

“Yes.” It was true that he wasn’t in charge of anything anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get someone in and out without being noticed. He had grown up in the New York Institute. It wasn’t his anymore, but he had spent his entire life training there, running the place, learning it backwards and forwards. The Inquisitor might outrank him, but she would never know the Institute the way that he did.

Luke took another drink of his coffee. “You think it could be true.”

“I’m not sure,” Alec corrected.

“And you want to be sure?”

“The inquisitor is pushing for immediate execution.”

Luke frowned. “Do you know when?”

“As soon as possible.” Alec said.

“Well,” Luke said, standing up and pushing away from the table, “I guess we’d better get going then.”

Alec nodded and followed Luke out of the coffee shop. Conflicting emotions were still roiling through him, but this would help. Luke would know if it really was Valentine in the cell. Which, of course it was - nothing else made sense.

The problem was that the past few months had been nothing short of a master class of the world not making sense. Ever since Clary had appeared, the parameters for what made sense hadn’t stopped shifting. Everywhere Alec turned, things he’d thought to be fundamental truths were shown to be hollow ideals that led to places he didn’t want to follow. At every test, the rules he had built his life on were breaking.

Now, he was about to go against direct orders from the inquisitor because he was tempted to believe something that Valentine Morgenstern had said. A lie about somehow being trapped in the wrong body - something so preposterous, he shouldn’t even be considering it. The entire idea of it was absurd. And yet… here he was. Risking his already tenuous position, and possibly endangering Luke’s as well.

The worst part was that it felt like the right thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have this posted last week, but instead I got a job as a librarian and went to a Queen concert.  
> #noregrets
> 
> As always, please feel free to come say hi [on tumblr!](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)


	3. Revelations of Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Alec visit the Institute and come to a conclusion about the identity of the prisoner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My most heartfelt thanks [Xandiland](http://xandiland.tumblr.com/) for being ABSOLUTELY AMAZING IN EVERY WAY and also going through and changing...virtually every single punctuation mark that I had in this fic, because I have no understanding of the laws of grammar.
> 
> Any mistakes left are my own.   
> If you catch anything, please let me know! Con/Crit always welcome.

The basement of the Institute was cold as it always was, the stone walls breathing in any hint of warmth and never letting go of it. The harsh fluorescent lighting only added to the stark, unforgiving atmosphere, washing out the sandy brown walls. Alec was leading them along a twisting path, avoiding patrols and security cameras. Luke walked beside him, thankfully not commenting on the way they were skulking through the halls.

It wasn’t that they didn’t have clearance - technically, Alec could let in anyone he wanted. His credentials had never been changed within the security system. Alec could have walked them through the front door. However, he needed Luke to be able to actually spend some time with… with whoever it was that was being held in the cell. Magnus or Valentine, Luke would know. To do that, they needed to go unseen for as long as possible.

Just because Alec was allowed didn’t mean that people wouldn’t try to stop him.

They entered the final hallway, and Alec turned to Luke. “Stay here for just a moment.” Luke raised an eyebrow but nodded his assent. Alec walked up and quickly dismissed the guard at the door of the cell, stating that he would be taking over. A few short seconds, and then the hall was empty except for Luke and Alec. And, of course, the prisoner in the cell.

Alec stood by the door for a moment, flexing his hands and taking a few deep breaths.  None of his doubts mattered now. He’d chosen his path of action. Luke was here, and however the next confrontation would go, Alec would know that he had done everything he could. 

Alec had learned his lesson from the incarceration of Meliorn. He couldn’t trust the clave’s decisions sentencing people to death. Not when he had such doubts.

He took one last deep breath and motioned Luke over. “Right. I don’t-”

Luke raised a hand to cut Alec off. “It’s fine. You’ve said.”

Alec took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders back, standing up straight. “I’ll go in with you. If anything seems off to you, tell me. We don’t have very long before someone will check on us.”

“And it would be best if we got out of here before then.”

Alec nodded, and then opened the door to the cell.

 

Valentine was tied up to the chair in the center of the room, and the tear tracks running down his face were painfully obvious. Luke stepped in, and Alec followed, closing the door after them. 

It took a few moments for Valentine to move. He seemed nearly catatonic, curled in on himself, staring blankly at his lap. His voice was shaking when he finally spoke, not bothering to look up. “Nothing you do can make me tell you what I don’t know.”

Alec looked to Luke, who seemed to be frozen in place.

When neither of them spoke, Valentine finally pulled himself up and looked over. His mouth dropped open and he leaned forward, eyes wet with hopeful desperation. “Luke - Alec. You, you’re here. You believe me? You’ll help me?”

Alec clenched his jaw and said nothing. Valentine turned his full attention to Luke. “Please, Luke, please. I’m not Valentine, you have to know!”

“I’m not sure I have to know anything.” Luke crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Maybe I’m here to make sure they kill you properly this time.”

Something in Valentine seemed to break, then. “No, please Luke, don’t do this. I’m Magnus Bane. I’m not Valentine, I’m not.”

“Or maybe you’d just say anything to get out of this cell,” Luke said, raising an eyebrow. “A lot of people are dead. Good people.  _ My _ people.”

“I know, Luke, please, I was there-”

“And you’re still here,” Luke cut him off.

Valentine just blinked; his eyes were wet and chin trembling. “I’m not Valentine,” he repeated. “Azazel cast the spell. Valentine is out there-”

“Wearing your face?” Luke asked.

“Yes!”

“How exactly did that happen?” Luke asked. “What were you doing summoning Azazel in the first place?”

At this Alec stepped forward, “Luke, that isn’t important.”

“It isn’t  _ important _ ?” Luke backed away from Alec and settled him with a steely glare. “You took Valentine out of this cell and summoned a greater demon and you want me to believe that why you did it isn’t important?”

“I told you,” Alec said firmly, “we thought Azazel had taken Isabelle.”

“But you never told me why you thought that,” Luke said. He frowned and turned back to Valentine. “You say you’re Magnus? You tell me. What the hell happened to Isabelle that would lead you to calling up Azazel?”

Valentine’s mouth opened and then shut. He swallowed and but simply looked at Alec. Silence lay thick in the room. Valentine was staring at Alec, but Alec refused to meet his gaze, looking anywhere else in the room except for at the prisoner still tied to a chair in the center of it. Finally, Valentine closed his eyes. “I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t tell me,” Luke said, disbelief clear in his voice.

“It isn’t mine to tell.” Valentine’s voice was brittle and hollow.

“Isabelle disappeared, couldn’t be found by any of the resources available at the New York Institute, and somehow that’s not important?”

Valentine’s eyes flicked from Luke to Alec. Alec who stood still, his shoulders tense and his arms locked behind his back. 

There was fear in Alec’s eyes. All of the Lightwoods were on thin ice with the Clave. Isabelle had already been on trial once, had been a few short hours away from banishment. Alec had been removed from his position as the head of the institute. Jace had nearly been executed.

Valentine swallowed hard and looked up at Luke. “It isn’t mine to tell,” he repeated. His eyes were wet, his voice was rough and desperate, but there was steel in his tone. It didn’t matter how many times Luke would ask, he wasn’t going to answer the question.

Luke frowned for a moment before turning to Alec. “We need to talk.”

Alec nodded and opened the cell door, following Luke out.

Luke waited for the door to shut before speaking. “That is not Valentine.”

“What?”

“That’s not Valentine.”

“How do you know?”

“Why did you summon Azazel?”

Alec frowned and looked away. “It seemed like the best option at the time.”

Luke sighed. “That’s how.”

“What?”

“You somehow thought it would be a good idea to summon a greater demon.” Luke jerked his thumb at the closed door of the cell, “The person in there apparently came to the same conclusion.” Luke raised an eyebrow and looked at Alec. “I’m guessing that if the Clave found out you’d all be in more than a little bit of trouble.”

“I had to do what I thought was best,” Alec said stiffly.

“Of course you did,” Luke said. “Would the Clave agree though?”

Alec’s silence was answer enough.

“The person in that cell knows why you summoned a greater demon into the institute,” Luke said, “but he also wasn’t willing to tell me. He has information that he could use for leverage. He could get you removed from the institute entirely, he could start an internal investigation that might shift the focus off him; create more opportunities for him to build a position of power or escape. He could damage your position with the Shadowhunters. He could have tried to play us against each other. He didn’t do any of that. Whoever you have in there, it isn’t Valentine Morgenstern.”

Alec let out a breath. “And you’re sure about that.”

“Alec, what would you do to protect your family?”

“Anything.” The answer was immediate.

“Exactly,” Luke said, “The person in there knows that about you, and for whatever reason, he’s willing to protect you.”

Alec drew in a shaky breath.

“What would happen if the Clave knew what he knows?” Luke asked.

“I - It’s not about me.”

Luke nodded. “He could have hurt you. He could have hurt your family. If Valentine could have made the Lightwoods pay? He would have.”

Alec paused, thinking over what Luke had said. “The Inquisitor is here. She wants to execute him.”

“That isn’t Valentine.”

Alec nodded. “We need to get him out of here and somewhere safe until we can fix this.”

“You can’t just-” Luke stopped and they both froze at the faint sound of footsteps.

They had taken too long.

Panic washed through Alec. Luke couldn’t be found in the Institute. In his desperation for a second opinion, all he’d managed to do was put Luke’s life in danger; one of the few allies the Shadowhunters still had, the leader of the New York pack. 

It didn’t matter what he had to do; he wouldn’t let Luke be implicated for showing up at Alec’s request.

Alec would not let yet another person be punished simply because he had once again made the wrong decision.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested, [this is where I live on tumblr](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/). Feel free to say hi!


	4. Trust and Jail Cells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec finally hears enough to confirm his suspicions, but he'll need help with his plans to try to bring everything to rights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's been a while! I *can* promise this is still going!  
> I... can't really promise any kind of schedule for updates, though.
> 
> But, my sincerest thanks to everyone for reading, leaving kudos and comments. All y'all are freaking great.
> 
>  
> 
> Beta'd by the ever-excellent Xandi. Any errors left are my own.
> 
> Comments, Con/Crit always welcome. If you see any mistakes, please let me know!

    “Stay here,” Alec said, quiet but urgent. The footsteps were still far enough away. Alec could reach whoever it was and convince them to turn around before they saw Luke; before anyone realized just how many orders Alec was ignoring in order to satisfy his own doubts.

    Luke gave Alec a flat, unhappy look, but nodded. They both knew how quickly everything could spiral out of control if Luke got caught in the Institute.

    Alec ran towards the sound of the still-approaching footsteps. He turned the corner, only to barely avoid running straight into his parabatai.

    “Jace?” Alec said, anxiety making his voice harder than he intended.

    “What are you doing here with Luke?” Jace shot back with a frown.

    “Who else knows?” Alec’s mind was already jumping to damage control.

    “Just me,” Jace said. “I switched the camera. No one will notice for a little bit, but you have got to get him out of here.”

    Alec nodded.

    Jace stared for a moment at Alec’s silence. “That’s it?”

    “Thank you.”

    Jace could feel the depth and sincerity of Alec’s gratitude. “No.” Jace shook his head. He reached out and grabbed Alec by the shoulders, “No. Alec, what are you doing?”

    “I have to-”

    “What is going on with you?”

    “This is _not_ a good time, Jace.”

    “Obviously not! You know how dangerous it is to ignore orders from the Inquisitor!”

    Alec met Jace’s eyes. “I needed Luke’s help.”

    “And a phone call wouldn’t work?” Jace said.

    Alec paused again, then he took a breath. “I needed him to speak with Valentine.”

    “Why?” Jace asked. “What could he possibly tell you?”

    “They were parabatai, Jace-”

    “The Inquisitor ordered Valentine’s execution.”

    Alec froze. “What?”

    “This morning. Where have you been?”

    “No, Jace, you have to stall them!”

    “Why would I ever do that, Alec? This is _Valentine_.” Jace’s voice was cold and hard. “If there was ever anyone who deserves it-”

    “ _That isn’t Valentine!_ ” Alec said sharply.

    Jace just stared, incredulous. “What?”

    “It isn’t Valentine; it’s Magnus. Something happened when we summoned Azazel. He did something.”

    “Alec, you know how crazy that sounds.”

    “I know, but Jace, you have to believe me. You have to stall them. I can fix this, I just need more time.”

    “Time for what?”

    “We can switch them back,” Alec said. “I just need more time.”

    “You want me to stall the inquisitor, because you think that Magnus is the one in the cell.”

    “Yes. I have to fix this-”

    “No, Alec, he’s lying.” Jace tried to keep his voice soft. Alec was more than stubborn when challenged, but Jace could match him.

    Alec was silent for a long moment, the intensity in his eyes searing into his parabatai. “You did it for Meliorn.” Alec’s voice was soft, but it still echoed in the empty hall.

    “Alec-”

    “How is this different?”

    “This is _Valentine_!”

    “No, Jace, it isn’t, it’s not —- I don’t know how it happened, but in there, that’s not Valentine.”

    Jace stared. Alec believed. Somehow, something had happened that made Alec believe absolutely that Valentine was not in the cell, despite the fact that _Valentine was obviously in the cell_. None of that mattered though, because Alec wasn’t going to back down.

    Jace knew that he had a reputation for recklessness, but it was only because people never saw Alec Lightwood taking on the world before breakfast. This was Alec willing to burn down whatever part of the world that thought it could stand in his way.

    “Jace, we can’t let them kill him.”

    “You really believe that’s not him.”

    The silence between them was thick. Alec looked Jace straight in the eye. “The person in that cell isn’t Valentine Morgenstern. It’s Magnus Bane, and I need your help to save him.”

    Jace frowned.

    “Please.” Alec’s entreaty was soft, but entirely heartfelt. “I need you to trust me on this.”

    Jace closed his eyes and let out a breath. “I trust you with my life, Alec.”

    “Thank you.”

    Jace could feel the relief rushing through their parabatai bond. He stepped forward and pulled Alec into a tight hug. “I will always be on your side.”

    Alec gave himself a few moments to breathe, leaning on Jace’s unwavering support. He couldn’t express how much it meant; the grounding weight of it. Alec had been lost and faltering for the past few days, but here and now, with Magnus depending on him, Luke in his corner, and Jace’s steadfast belief, Alec knew he was on steady ground.

    Finally, Alec pulled free from Jace’s embrace. “I need you to be here. I need you to make sure nothing happens to him while I’m gone.”

    “Where are you going?”

    “I have to go get Magnus.” Alec frowned. “Valentine in Magnus’ body.”

    “Okay.” Jace said. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep that up.”

    “Just give me half an hour.”

    Jace nodded. “I’ll keep him safe.”

    “Thank you.” The relief in Alec’s voice was palpable.

    “Get going,” Jace said.

    Alec nodded, and pulled Jace in for another quick hug. “Thank you,” he repeated softly. Then he pulled away, and ran back down the hallway.

 

    Jace watched him go, and shook his head. He could only hope that Alec would get back soon. There was no telling what could happen to them if they were found out and brought in front of the inquisitor.

 

    Alec ran back towards the cell, where Luke was still standing, alert and tense, and clearly unhappy.

    “It’s fine. It was just Jace. He’s going to stay here and make sure nothing happens to Magnus until we can switch him back.”

    Luke frowned. “And you know how to do that?”

    Alec swallowed hard. “No.”

    “It will take a warlock.” Luke pointed out.

    “I'll check the Clave database.” Alec said, “See if there’s anyone-”

    Luke shook his head. “You know that’s not going to work. Who would you be able to get to come in when the Institute is on lockdown?”

    Alec tried to ignore his building guilt. He didn’t know any other warlocks, hadn’t met any of Magnus’s friends. There just hadn’t been time. He frowned, “Magnus will know someone.” He took a breath and walked back into Magnus's cell. He had to focus on finding a solution.

    Valentine’s body was there, sitting up, tense and shaking.

    “Magnus, how do we fix this?” It felt like so much had happened in the past few minutes, Alec didn’t even think about addressing the soul in the body. With suspicions confirmed, it had never occurred to him to call Magnus anything else.

    He wasn’t prepared for the effect it would have on Magnus, still bound to a chair, wearing the face of a genocidal nephilim.

    “You believe me.” The voice was barely a whisper, drenched in shredded hope.

    “We’ll get you out of here,” Alec promised.

    “ _Alexander._ ” A tear dripped down Valentine’s face, and Alec could hardly breathe.

    "Magnus… " There was so much Alec wanted to say, but he had no idea where to even start. All of this was his fault, from the very beginning. He’d made a bad call summoning Azazel in the first place. Everything had spiraled out from that point, and somehow it had left them here: Magnus, trapped and tortured in a body that wasn’t his.

    Magnus in Valentine’s body took a shuddering breath. “Call Dot. She can fix this. She’ll need to be here though. As will Valentine. Our bodies both have to be here for us to switch back.”

    Alec nodded. The faster they could get this sorted out the better. He turned to head back out the door. His mind was already ten steps ahead, spinning towards possibilities and difficulties of getting Magnus’s body back to the Institute.

    “Alexander.” The delivery of Alec’s name sounded so strange coming out of Valentine’s mouth. He paused and looked back.

    “Thank you.” There was hope and trust shining out of Valentine’s eyes, and Alec wondered how he ever could have doubted. He paused for a moment, looking at the wrong body that currently housed the most indomitable soul that Alec had ever met.

    “I love you,” Alec said.

    Valentine’s mouth trembled, but all Alec could hear was the warmth of Magnus’s voice, the soft caress of syllables that they had shared so many times. It was someone else’s face, but the words were from Magnus. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to chat/leave prompts/whatever, [I am here on tumblr!](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)


	5. Loft Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More people, more variables, but the most important things get done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter got switched up a bit. Nothing of terrible importance, but you can re-read if you'd like.
> 
> Eternal gratitude to the endlessly excellent [Xandiland](http://xandiland.tumblr.com/) for continuing to fix every single punctuation mark I've ever put in dialogue. <3 
> 
> Any mistakes left are my own. If you catch anything, please let me know! Con/Crit always welcome.

Alec was running but it was nothing compared to the rush of thoughts swirling through his mind. All of the moments when he could have acted, all of the cues that he chose to let himself miss. He was so worried about trying to do right, trying to hold to what he thought he was supposed to be that he’d almost let go of the one person who meant most.

_ How _ had he thought it was more reasonable for Valentine to be spying than for Magnus to be telling the truth? The self-recrimination slid, cool and thick, building in the back of his neck and curling around to make his muscles shake and his lungs shudder. All of the signs had been there, and he had chosen not to see them. He had chosen to listen to the Clave over his heart,  _ again _ , and now it was a race against the Inquisitor to try and get Magnus into his own body before he died wearing Valentine’s face.

The streets leading to the loft were familiar; he didn’t have to think about taking the turns his feet knew so well at this point. It left his mind free to chase down plans. What would he do if Valentine wasn’t there? He would have to break Magnus out, buy time until they could fix the situation. He couldn’t delay Imogen with paperwork or procedure. 

If he had to take Magnus and run, where would they go? Could they run from the Clave and still have the resources to find Valentine? Magnus’s powers had stayed with is body; how long would it take before Valentine started tapping into that magic? Alec let the plans and possibilities map out like tree roots, splitting and branching off into more detailed scenarios, trying to identify every possible variable and how it would change things. 

He took a deep breath and pushed himself harder, running faster. His lungs were burning, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting to Valentine as fast as possible, so he could try to stop things from spiraling any further out of control than they’d already gone. He knew that he was moving so fast he would be a blur to mundane eyes, but it wasn’t enough.

 

Not when all of this was his fault in the first place.

 

Alec reached Magnus’s building, and threw himself through the doors, sprinting up the stairs. Valentine clearly hadn’t figured out Magnus’s magic enough for it to have any effect on the wards. Alec could only thank the angel for small mercies. Running down the hall, he reached the door to the loft and threw it open. Magnus didn’t even have a mundane key; he never had use for one.

Alec was focused on one thing, and one thing alone: Magnus, standing in the middle of the room, swirling his hands as blue magic followed his movements. Distantly, he noted that it looked like there was someone out on the balcony, but whoever that was could wait. Alec needed to get Magnus’s body into custody, and he needed to get back to the Institute.

It was nothing at all to crash into the room and tackle Valentine to the floor. Magnus was strong; more than enough to give Alec a run for his money any day, but Valentine didn’t know how to use that strength. Magnus didn’t train like the Nephilim, and Valentine hadn’t adjusted to the differences, unused to the muscle mass and center of gravity of his borrowed body.

Alec had him down in moments, snapping Magnus’s wrists into runed cuffs that would block his magic. 

“I know who you are,” Alec hissed, letting his panic solidify into cold hatred in his voice. “And you’re going to pay for what you’ve done to Magnus.” Another rune added to the cuffs, and Valentine’s voice was silenced. It didn’t matter what he tried to say, Alec didn’t want to hear it. He’d already spent too long listening to the wrong people.

That was when the door from the balcony opened. Dot looked shocked. Pale and shaking,  her knuckles were white where they gripped her phone. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Yeah, Luke, they’re here. I can portal us to the Institute. I need to talk to Magnus, I’m not sure-” She paused, listening to whatever Luke was saying on the other end of the conversation. “I haven’t done this before. I’ll have to check my books.”

Fear bloomed through Alec at that. “You don’t have time.”

Dot frowned at him, pulling her attention away from her phone call. “What?”

“We have to do this now. I don’t know how much time we have.”

“What is going  _ on _ ?” Dot finally snapped, her frustration with the situation boiling over. She trusted Luke. They’d lived together, raised Clary together. They had both been just as involved with hiding Jocelyn from Valentine.

That trust didn’t make it easier to watch a Shadowhunter arrest Magnus in his own house.

“This isn’t Magnus,” Alec said, his voice like chilled steel.

“That’s what Luke said. What the hell is going on?”

“Azazel did something. It doesn’t matter; we  _ have _ to get him back!” There was a waver to Alec’s voice, like he only just managed to keep it from cracking.

That was when Dot realized that the ice was a veneer. There was something wild in Alec’s eyes. She didn’t know him well enough to recognize it at first, but now, as she looked, she could see it. Alec was  _ terrified _ . It was there in the way that he was just a bit too still, like if he let go of anything, he’d start shaking. Dot wasn’t nearly as good at technical magic as Magnus was, but she’d always had strength in empathy.

Alec was a jagged mess. Now that she was looking, all Dot could see was the way he was fraying at the edges.

“I can get us to the Institute, but I thought it was on lockdown. How would we even get in?” Dot finally asked.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it,” Alec said. “But we have to hurry.”

“Why?” It wasn’t as though Dot wanted her friend to spend any longer as Valentine than he absolutely had to, but there seemed to be something else going on behind Alec’s fear.

Alec was quiet for a tense moment before he swallowed. “They’re pushing to execute.” His voice was quiet, but it carried through the loft.

It took a moment for Dot to process, and then the reality of it came crashing down on her. “You mean you  _ Shadowhunters _ are about to murder Magnus Bane while he’s trapped in Valentine’s body.”

Alec’s mouth opened and then shut. He swallowed again. “Please help me,” he finally said. “Help  _ him. _ Please.”

“He loves you,” she said. “He  _ trusts _ you.”

Alec looked wretched, but managed to hold her gaze. “I love him. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

She watched him for another long moment, the way that he had Magnus’s body completely immobilized, bound and gagged, but still seemed to holding back. He was efficient, but it almost seemed as though he was still trying to be… gentle.

“I don’t know any spells to switch them back,” she said, honestly.

Alec’s stoicism finally cracked at that. “Dot-”

“I won’t let anything happen to him either.”

Alec blinked at her.

“I love him too,” she said. “He’s been there for me - for the entire Downworld. He’s been my friend longer than you’ve been alive.” She tried to keep her voice gentle, but it was hard. “I want him safe as much as you do.”

Alec nodded. “If you need more time, I’ll… I’ll make sure you get it. Whatever you need. We can’t let him-” He cut himself off, but Dot understood.

She took a deep breath, and realized that she was still on the phone. She pulled it back up to her ear. “I guess you heard all that, Luke?”

“Yeah.” It was Maia’s voice on the phone, though. “We’ll meet you at the Institute.”

“The two of you?” Dot asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t going to be a stealth mission, but she was sure larger numbers wouldn’t help.

“Just us,” Maia said. “I wasn’t about to let him go in alone.”

Dot could only smile at that. “Good. We’ll see you there.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this fandom so much, so feel free to come squee with me [on tumblr!](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)


	6. Epiphanies Between Former Flatmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jace has a chat with the prisoner being held at the Institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deepest thanks as always to the incredible patience of the fantastic [Xandiland](http://xandiland.tumblr.com/), who seems eternally willing to fix literally every punctuation mark I have ever used in dialogue.
> 
>  
> 
> Any mistakes left are my own. Con/Crit always welcome.

 

Jace stood outside in the hallway for a while, shifting uncomfortably. Waiting had never been his strength. He traced a rune, letting his senses sink into his surroundings until he could hear the air being pumped through the ventilation of the basement. More than the air, though, Jace could hear his own heart beating. 

The one thing Jace didn’t want was to be alone with his own thoughts. Anything would be better. Even spending time with Valentine was better than silence. Better than waiting.

No. No good ever came from silence. Or stillness. 

It felt like things kept slipping. Every decision he made somehow managed to be the wrong one. 

Jace shook his hair out of his eyes, and then walked through the door into the cell holding Valentine. Or, as the case seemed to be, somehow holding Magnus. 

Jace had no idea what Valentine had managed to say to get so deep into Alec’s head, but finding out was a much better idea than simply standing in the hallway, waiting to be found.

Valentine was seated in the same chair he’d been in for interrogation. The straps built to hold him in place had all been undone though. Jace figured that it must have been Alec, trying to make  _ Apparently Magnus _ more comfortable. 

Even though it was Valentine.

The face that Jace knew from torture. From the dark days on Valentine’s ship, getting strung up and beaten; pushed until he snapped. The voice that said all of the words of his father, but in the just  _ wrong _ right way. It was the same pattern, the same intonation, but in Valentine’s rough tenor, and not the deep, smooth voice Jace remembered from childhood.

Jace stepped fully into the cell and closed the door behind him.

Valentine -  _ Magnus? Could it be? Really? _ \- turned to face him.

“Jace,” he said, with a nod. He sounded exhausted in a way that Jace didn’t want to think about. The kind of weariness that couldn’t be fixed with sleep and only ever ended in nightmares.

“Alec thinks you’re not Valentine,” Jace said skeptically, keeping his back against the door, and raising an eyebrow.

Valentine let out a laugh that sounded barely a few shades away from hysteria. “I suppose you need to be convinced as well.”

Jace scoffed. “No. You won’t convince me. I know who you are. I know how you lie.”

“And yet you’re here,” Valentine pointed out.

“If Alec needs some kind of magic to prove that you are who you are, I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“What a caring parabatai you are.”

Jace frowned. Valentine’s tone was unmistakably bitter, but underneath it was a seed of real honesty.

“He’s my brother, and my best friend. If he needs this, I’ll stand behind him.”

“Stand behind him, just like you did when he didn’t want to help Clary? Like you did when you asked for my help to steal the Mortal Cup?”

Jace was speechless, completely taken aback by the casual way that Valentine was referencing things he had no way of knowing. “Back then it was the right thing to do.”

“Was it, now?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You threw your parabatai to the wolves.”

“I never had a parabatai, because I’m not Valentine!” The snarl was unmistakable, and Jace was starting to understand where Alec’s doubts had come from.

“You really want me to believe that, don’t you?” Jace spat back, covering his confusion with aggression. He was  _ done _ showing Valentine his weaknesses.

“What I want is to not die here. What I want is to be back in  _ my own body _ .”

“Maybe you deserve to die for what you’ve done.”

Valentine turned to him, then, with a look that Jace didn’t recognize playing in his dark eyes. It was something haunted and hurting, like nothing that Jace had ever seen from Valentine before. It...looked like regret.

“Maybe I do deserve to die for what I’ve done.” Valentine’s voice was soft, but it carried in the empty space of the cell. “Maybe I have done things that are unforgivable.” His voice turned hard. “Are  _ you _ the one to decide that?”

Jace could only stare.

“You seemed so sure a moment ago,  _ Shadowhunter _ . It wouldn’t be the first time that your kind has decided that I’m too dangerous to be left alive.” Valentine - _ Magnus? _ \- scoffed. “You’re always so sure, Jace. You always know that your version of right is the best one. I don’t know how you don’t see what it does to people.”

"Stop it!” Jace finally shouted. “Stop it!” It was taking everything he had to keep his voice from cracking, to keep back the burn of tears in his eyes. “Of course I see.”

“You really think I’m going to believe that?” Valentine challenged. “I’ve seen what you do to the people around you, the people who fight for you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jace’s voice shook. He could feel his weakness curling around his lungs.

“How could I not know?” Valentine’s voice was cold. “I’ve watched it happen, Jace. I’ve seen how many people are willing to die for you. Do you? Do see how many people fall? How many people break because you don’t see anything other than your own life? You’re so sure you know the best way.” 

“I know I’m not right!” Jace finally shouted, voice breaking. “I  _ know _ \- It wasn’t - I didn’t-” He stopped and tried to swallow around the weight of crushing guilt that had somehow knotted in his throat. “I never meant to!  _ I don’t want to kill people! _ You tricked me! You tricked me, and I never meant - I thought. I thought the only person who was going to die that night was  _ me. _ ” Jace was panting for breath, trying to fight through the memory of how many people had died, how many downworlders had been killed  _ by him _ . He had asked for their trust, then led them to death. Jace didn’t notice the way that the silence echoed through the cell after his exclamation.

Valentine frowned at him from where he sat in the chair and finally spoke after a long moment. “What are you talking about?”

Jace froze when he realized what he’d said. “You know.”

“Know  _ what _ , Jace, what are you talking about?”

Jace just stared. His confusion sounded so genuine. And Valentine - the  _ real _ Valentine - would never have lost a chance to remind Jace of what he’d done, what he’d unleashed with the Soul Sword. Unless he was trying to lure Jace into a false sense of security. Again.

“Jace.” Valentine’s voice was gentle in a way that Jace had truly never heard before. “Jace, what happened?”

Jace swallowed and let his head drop back against the door he was leaning on. He couldn’t do this. He was so tired. He didn’t know what to believe anymore, and he just wanted… he wanted things to be simple. He wanted Alec to be in charge, and Izzy to be by his side. He wanted Clary to not be his sister. 

He wanted to have died that night he’d touched the Soul Sword.

“Nothing happened.” Jace tried, but his voice was hollow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He didn’t know what to do with anything anymore.  _ Maybe the man in the chair was telling the truth. Maybe he was Magnus _ … but Jace shied away from the thought. He had believed the wrong thing too many times. Too many people had died because of his gullibility.

“I don’t know what night you’re talking about, Jace,” Valentine finally said.

“Of course you do,” Jace sneered. He couldn’t do this anymore. “You always know.”

“I was talking about your family,” Valentine said.  “About your parabatai, and how Alexander was willing to give up anything to find you, when Valentine took you. Isabelle, who almost lost her runes because you took off with Clary and the Mortal Cup.”

Jace stared. “What?” 

It was absurd to think that Valentine didn’t know what had happened that night. There was also no way that Valentine could possibly know how far Alec had fallen into their parabatai bond searching for him. It made even less sense for Valentine to know what had happened when they had been searching for Jocelyn. It was too much. Jace had been lied to far too many times. He couldn’t do this again. He finally found his voice. “No more of your games, Valentine.” 

“I don’t have time left to play games, Jace.” Valentine looked up, and there was something in his eyes; something cold and desolate, but it wasn’t the face that Jace knew. There was something  _ off _ about everything that Valentine had said that night. He was just… too expressive, too much.

But Valentine had pretended to be Michael Wayland for Jace’s entire life. It would hardly be new for him to try and take on someone else’s life.

“If you don’t help me, I’m going to die here.”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Jace said, but there was no force behind it. He was just repeating words, empty of an shred of conviction.

Valentine closed his eyes. “What would it take to convince you?” He sighed. “Should I tell you about how many times you brought someone into my house because you couldn’t stand to sleep alone? How many nights Alec got out of bed, because he could tell you were having a nightmare? What if I tell you that your favourite tabby is missing you? She’s been upset with me ever since you left the loft. I keep finding her at the window to the guest room. If she sees me she just walks off.”

Jace couldn’t believe it. “How - there’s no way you can know about that.”

Valentine just sighed. He looked up and looked impossibly tired. “Jace. I-”

There was a clatter in the hallway, and both of them froze at the sound. The crash of a door sounded, followed by a rush of footsteps.

“Jace. Jace  _ please _ .” Valentine’s eyes were wide and frightened. “I don’t want to die, Jace, please,  _ please _ , I’m not Valentine.”

Jace started towards the chair, before jerking to a stop. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to put everything at risk because he was, once again, choosing to trust  _ Valentine _ ? He was frozen with indecision. There was no way out. The man in the chair - there was no way he could be Valentine. None of the things he said made any sense. Except for how  _ the man in the chair was Valentine _ .

The pounding of footsteps got closer, and  then Jace heard it. He could feel himself relaxing, despite the tension in the cell. He would recognize that gait anywhere.

Someone was running through the halls and Alec would be the only one running down here. If the Inquisitor had caught on to what was going down, it would be the steady march of an entire squad of Shadowhunters. This was the staccato beat of a single person charging forward, of Alec following his instincts and pursuing what he believed in.

# In the midst of all the confusion, it was a sound that Jace knew he could depend on. It didn’t matter what happened; no matter how crazy the world got, there would be Alec, steadily running forward, fighting through anything that stood in his way.

 

Alec cleared the hallway and pushed the cell door open. “Jace,” he said, panting, “I need you to go run interference.”

Jace frowned and stepped out of the cell into the hall, closing the door behind him. “What?”

"I’ve got Valentine - actual Valentine, but it takes a Warlock to switch them back. Dot is here, but I can’t let her be seen. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Jace turned down to look down the hallway. “That sounds like more than one person.”

Alec winced. “It is. Luke and Maia are here too.”

“You brought Maia in here? She’s already been pulled in for interrogation once! Do you know what could happen if she gets caught?”

“Please, Jace,” Alec said. “I need your help.”

Jace stared at his parabatai, but all he could hear where Valentine’s words. 

_ I’ve seen how many people are willing to die for you.  _

_ You’re so sure you know the best way. _

Jace reached out and put his hand on Alec’s shoulder. “What do you need me to do?”

Alec blinked at him once, and Jace could feel the rush of relief through their parabatai bond. “Keep the cameras off. Keep the Inquisitor away for as long as you can.”

Jace nodded. “I will.” He gave Alec’s shoulder another squeeze before turning and running back up to the main floor. It was one thing to hide Alec. Trying to keep anyone from noticing a group of downworlders when the Institute was on lockdown was going to be a much different task.

It didn’t matter though. If this is what Alec needed, Jace would make sure it happened. He would prove it to Valentine -  _ Magnus? _ \- He knew what Alec was willing to do for him. Jace would give just as much in return, whatever it took.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi to me[on tumblr](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends! Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> One thing I'd like to say - I love writing prompts, and I'm really loving all of the different things to explore in the Shadowhunters universe.
> 
> If there's a prompt you'd like to see me write, or you just want to chat, I am [here on tumblr!](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)


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